hither and thither, until one of the chiefs, whether out of compassion, or weary of cruelty, puts an end to his life with a club or dagger. The body is the put into a kettle, and this barbarous employment is fucceeded by a feast as barbarous.

The women, forgetting the human as well as the female nature, and transformed into fomething worse than furies, even outdo the men in this fcene of horror; while the principal perfons of the country fit round the ftake, fmoaking and looking on without the leaft emotion, What is moft extraordinary, the fufferer himfelf, in the little intervals of his torments, fmokes too, appears unconcerned, and converfes with his torturers about indifferent matters. Indeed, during the whole time of his execution, there feems a contest which fhall exceed, they in inflicting the most horrid pains, or he in enduring them with a firmness and conftancy almost above human: not a groan, not a figh, not a dif tortion of countenance escapes him; he poffeffes his mind entirely in the midst of his torments; he recounts his own exploits; he informs them what cruelties he has inflicted upon their countrymen, and threatens them with the revenge that will attend his death; and, though his reproaches exafperate them to a perfect madness of rage and fury, he continues his infults even of their ignorance of the art of tormenting, pointing out himself more exquifite methods, and more fenfible parts of the body to be afflicted. The women have this part of courage as well as the men; and it is as rare for an Indian to behave otherwife as it would be for any European to fuffer as an Indian. Such is the wonderful power of an early inftitution, and a ferocious thirft of glory. brave and intrepid (exclaims the favage in the face of his tormentors); I do not fear death, nor any kind of tortures; those who fear them are cowards; they are less than women; life is nothing to those that have courage: May my enemies be confounded with defpair and rage! Oh! that I could devour them, and drink their blood to the last drop.".

I am

But neither the intrepidity on one fide, nor the inflexibility on thei other, are among themfelves matter of aftonishment: for vengeance, and fortitude in the midft of torment, are duties which they confider as facred; they are the effects of their earliest education, and depend upon principles inftilled into them from their infancy. On all other occafions they are humane and compaffionate. Nothing can exceed the warmth of their affection towards their friends, who confiit of all thofe who live in the fame village, or are in alliance with it; among thefe all things are common; and this, though it may in part arife from their not poffeffing very distinct notions of feparate property, is chiefly to be attributed to the ftrength of their attachment; becaufe in every thing elfe, with their

lives as well as their fortunes, they are ready to ferve their friends. Their houfes, their provifions, even their young women, are not enough to oblige a gueft. Has any one of thefe fucceeded ill in his hunting? Has his harvest failed? or is his horfe burned? He feels no other effect of his misfortunes, than that it gives him an opportunity to experience the benevolence and regard of his fellow-citizens. On the other hand, to the enemies of his country, or to those who have privately offended, the American is implacable. He conceals his fentiments, he appears reconciled, until by fome treachery or furprise he has an opportunity of executing an horrible revenge. No length of time is fufficient to allay his refer.tment; no diftance of place great enough to protect the obje&; he croffes the fteepeft mountains, he pierces the moft impracticable forefts, and traverses the most hideous bogs and defarts for feveral hundreds of miles; bearing the inclemency of the feafons, the fatigue of the expedition, the extremes of hunger and thirft, with patience and cheerfulness, in hopes of furprising his enemy, on whom he exercises the moft fhocking barbarities, even to the eating of his-flesh. To fuch extremes do the Indians push their friendship or their enmity; and fuch indeed, in general, is the character of all strong and uncultivated minds. But what we have faid refpecting the Indians would be a faint picture, did we omit obferving the force of their friendship, which principally appears by the treatment of their dead. When any one of the fociety is cut off, he is lamented by the whole: on this occafion a thousand ceremonies are practifed, denoting the moft lively forrow. No business is transacted, however preffing, till all the pious ceremonies due to the dead are performed. The body is washed, anointed, and painted. Then the women lament the lofs with hideous howlings, intermixed with fongs which celebrate the great actions of the deceased and his ancestors. The men mourn in a lefs extravagant manner. The whole village is prefent at the interment, and the corpfe is habited in their moft fumptuous ornaments. Clofe to the body of the defunct are placed his bows and arrows, with whatever he valued moft in his life, and a quantity of provifion for his fubfiftence on the journey which he is fuppofed to take. This folemnity, like every other, is attended with feafting. The funeral being ended, the relations of the deceafed confine themfelves to their huts for a confiderable time to indulge their grief. After an interval of fome weeks they vifit the grave, repeat their forrow, new clothe the remains of the body, and act over again all the folemnities of the funeral.

Among the various tokens of their regard for their deceased friends, the moft remarkable is what they call the feaft of the dead, or the feaft

of

of fouls. The day for this ceremony is appointed in the council of their chiefs, who give orders for every thing which may enable them to celebrate it with pomp and magnificence; and the neighbouring nations are invited to partake of the entertainment. At this time, all who have died fince the preceding feast of the kind are taken out of their graves. Even those who have been interred at the greatest distance from the vil lages are diligently fought for, and conducted to this rendezvous of the dead, which exhibits a scene of horror beyond the power of defcription. When the feaft is concluded, the bodies are dreffed in the finest fkins which can be procured, and after being expofed for fome time in this pomp, are again committed to the earth with great folemnity, which is fucceeded by funeral games.

Him they invoke before they

Their tafte for war, which forms the chief ingredient in their character, gives a strong bias to their religion. Arefkoui, or the god of battle, is revered as the great god of the Indians. go into the field; and according as his difpofition is more or less favourable to them, they conclude they will be more or less fuccefsful. Some nations worship the fun and moon; among others there are a number of traditions, relative to the creation of the world and the history of the gods: traditions which resemble the Grecian fables, but which are still more abfurd and inconfiftent. But religion is not the prevailing charaeter of the Indians; and except when they have some immediate occafion for the affistance of their gods, they pay them no fort of worship. Like all rude nations, however, they are strongly addicted to fuperftition. They believe in the existence of a number of good and bad genii or fpirits, who interfere in the affairs of mortals, and produce all our hap pinefs or mifery. It is from the evil genii, in particular, that our difeafes proceed; and it is to the good genii we are indebted for a cure. The minifters of the genii are the jugglers, who are alfo the only phyficians among the favages. These jugglers are supposed to be infpired by the good genii, most commonly in their dreams, with the knowledge of future events; they are called in to the affiftance of the fick, and are fuppofed to be informed by the genii whether they will get over the disease, and in what way they must be treated. But these spirits are extremely fimple in their fyftem of phyfic, and, in almoft every disease, direct the juggler to the fame remedy. The patient is inclosed in a narrow cabin, in the midst of which is a ftone red-hot; on this they throw water, until he is well foaked with the warm vapour and his own fweat. Then they hurry him from this bagnio, and plunge him fuddenly into the next river. This coarfe method, which cofts many their lives, often performs very extraordinary cures. The jugglers have like

1

wife the ufe of fome fpecifics of wonderful efficacy; and all the favages are dexterous in curing wounds by the application of herbs. But the power of these remedies is always attributed to the magical ceremonies with which they are administered.

Though the women generally bear the laborious part of domeftic economy, their condition is far from being fo flavish as it appears. On the contrary, the greateft refpect is paid by the men to the female fex. The women even hold their councils, and have their fhare in all deliberations which concern the ftate. Polygamy is practifed by fome nations, but is not general. In moft, they content themfelves with one wife; but a divorce is admitted in case of adultery. No nation of the Americans is without à regular marriage, in which there are many ceremonies; the principal of which is, the bride's prefenting the bridegroom with a plate of their corn. The women, though before incontinent, are remarkable for chastity after marriage.

Liberty, in its full extent, being the darling paffion of the Indians, their education is directed in such a manner as to cherish this difpofition to the utmost. Hence children are never upon any account chastised with blows, and they are feldom even reprimanded. Reafon, they fay, will guide their children when they come to the use of it, and before that time their faults cannot be very great: but blows might damp their free and martial spirit, by the habit of a flavish motive to action. When grown up, they experience nothing like command, dependence, or fubordination; even ftrong perfuafion is industriously with-held by thofe who have influence among them.- No man is held in great esteem, ualefs he has increafed the ftrength of his country with a captive, or adorned his hut with a fcalp of one of his enemies.

Controverfies among the Indians are few, and quickly decided. When any criminal matter is fo flagrant as to become a national concern, it is brought under the jurifdiction of the great council; but in ordinary cafes, the crime is either revenged or compromifed by the parties concerned. If a murder be committed, the family which has loft a relation prepares to retaliate on that of the offender. They often kill the murderer; and when this happens, the kindred of the last person flain look upon themselves to be as much injured, and to have the fame right to vengeance as the other party. In general, however, the offender abfents himfelf; the friends fend compliments of condolence to those of the perfon that has been murdered. The head of the family at length

appears with a number of prefents, the delivery of which he accompanies with a formal fpeech. The whole ends, as ufual, in mutual feastings, fongs, and dances. If the murder is committed by one of the No. II.

P

fame

fame family or cabin, that cabin has the full right of judgment within itfelf, either to punish the guilty with death, or to pardon him, or to oblige him to give fome recompence to the wife or children of the flain. Inftances of fuch a crime, however, very feldom happen; for their attachment to thofe of the fame family is remarkably ftrong, and is faid to produce fuch friendships as may vie with the most celebrated in fabulous antiquity.

Such, in general, are the manners and customs of the Indian nations; but every tribe has fomething peculiar to itself. Among the Hurons and Natchez, the dignity of the chief is hereditary, and the right of fucceffion in the female line. When this happens to be extinct, the moft refpectable matron of the tribe makes choice of whom the pleases to fucceed.

The Cherokees are governed by feveral fachems or chiefs, elected by the different villages; as are alfo the Creeks and Chactaws. The two latter punish adultery in a woman by cutting off her hair, which they will not fuffer to grow till the corn is ripe the next feafon; but the Illinois, for the fame crime, cut off the womens nofes and ears.

The Indians on the lakes are formed into a fort of empire; and the emperor is elected from the eldest tribe, which is that of the Ottowawaws. He has the greatest authority of any chief that has appeared on the continent fince' our acquaintance with it. A few years ago, the perfon who held this rank formed a defign of uniting all the Indian nations under his fovereignty; but he miscarried in the attempt.

In general, the American Indians live to a great age, although it is not poffible to know from themselves the exact number of their years. It was asked of an Indian, who appeared to be extremely old, what age Upon putting the quef

he was of? I am above twenty, was his reply. tion in a different form, by reminding him of certain circumstances in former times, My machu, faid he, spoke to me when I was young of the Incas; and he had feen thefe princes. According to this reply, there muft have elapfed, from the date of his machu's (his grandfather's) remembrance to that time, a period of at leaft 232 years. The man who made this reply appeared to be 120 years of age: for, befides the whiteness of his hair and beard, his body was almost bent to the ground; without, however, fhowing any other marks of debility or fuffering. This happened in 1764. This longevity, attended in general with uninterrupted health, is probably the confequence in part of their vacancy. from all ferious thought and employment, joined alfo with the robuft texture and conformation of their bodily organs. If the Indians did not deftroy one another in their almoft perpetual wars, and if their